Is anyone home?
by annielovesauggie
Summary: A 'oneshot' that takes place after Wishful Beginnings. My version of events after Auggie stops by Annie's house to see if she's home...


**A/N: This is a 'oneshot' that takes place after Wishful Beginnings. This is sort of my idea of what came after the scene where Auggie goes to Annie's house, but she's not home. Please review. I may extend if it's requested. Thanks to all who read/review. Also, thank you to those that wished me well during Hurricane Sandy. I am on the east coast (NJ) and my area was hit hard. We are still without power/heat/light/cell service. Gas is scarce and there's no end in sight yet….. I'm at a friends in PA, riding it out.**

She was slipping away from him. There was no denying it. As he stood in the courtyard of her sister's house calling her name, he already knew that she wasn't there. He'd hoped he was wrong, but he knew from moment he crossed the threshold of her doorway that she wasn't home. The telltale scent of grapefruit and the sharp, slightly tingly smell of her hair products were absent.

He crossed the driveway and slowly made his way back to the waiting car and driver.

"Not home, sir?"

"No, Paul. Looks like I missed her." Auggie climbed in the back seat and allowed his usual driver to take him home. He leaned his head back on the leather headrest.

He'd known at the award ceremony. He'd felt it. One minute she was there, and the next she was gone. It felt like someone had let the air out of the room. He'd asked another agent if he'd seen her, but the truth was, he'd already known the answer.

He felt the luxury sedan rumble to a stop. "We're here, sir. Double parked directly in front of your door." Paul said.

"Okay, g'night Paul. Catch you tomorrow." Auggie extricated himself from the car and extended his cane swiftly, in a well-practiced move. He climbed the stairs to his third floor loft, feeling more and more exhausted with each step. He opened the door and let himself inside. Mindlessly, he deposited his cane, keys and messenger bag on the table by the door. He was walking toward his closet to change into something more comfortable when he stopped. He'd never felt such a feeling of grief. He reached for the cell phone in his pocket and pushed speed dial #2. He waited for Annie to pick up.

"Hello?" Her tired voice answered.

"Hey Walker, you skipped out early on your own party." He tried to keep it casual.

"I know. I was exhausted though. Everything sort of caught up with me all at once."

"Oh, that's too bad. I was gonna offer to buy you a drink at Allen's."

"Um, I'd love to, Aug, but um…I'm not home. That is…I went home, but I couldn't stay…" she trailed off. Auggie felt dumb instantly. Of course she wouldn't want to stay there.

"Annie, I never thought about that…..um, do you need…"

She cut him off. "I was going to stay at a hotel, but then I ran into Eyal."

Auggie felt his heart squeeze a little tighter. "Oh, okay."

"He has a place in DC. He said I could stay here until I sort things out."

"You're there now?"

"Um, yeah. He's leaving for Israel in a few hours, but yeah, I'm staying here for a bit."

"Okay, then. I'm glad you're okay. I'll catch up with you later." Before she could respond, Auggie hung up. He blew it and he knew it.

They had been on a precipice of something—something special, but for whatever reason…Parker, Simon, Barcelona, Eritrea, they'd both stepped back into their respective corners and pretended that they hadn't been drawn to each other like a moth to a flame.

Auggie knew that sometimes you couldn't recapture those moments and he was terrified he'd never get back there with Annie. He'd felt love before—real love, but not like this. Annie was….in a whole different league. He'd heard about true love, read about thunderbolts, but he never really believed in it, until she was at death's door as he waited helplessly for his best friend to awaken from a coma.

When she woke up, he'd known. He loved her. Of course, she was in no condition to hear it, but he'd hoped it would just be a matter of time before he could tell her. He waited while she grieved Simon. He waited when she was determined to go to Russia and find Lena. He'd waited and worried endlessly while she was being held in a Russian prison. Then, he waited too long. She'd come home and instead of intercepting her right there and then, he stood on the sidelines while she was corralled into yet another mission with Eyal Levin.

He should've gone to the Blue Bonnet Farm. He knew all about the farm. He'd been through it a time or two before his permanent reassignment to 'tech op extraordinaire'. Joan would have objected, but not strenuously. He could work his magic around her if he had too. But no, he waited. He thought time on the farm would be good for her—time to decompress and sort things out. He was wrong.

He went to bed that night and dreamed of her. He didn't usually have visual dreams anymore. At first, he had mourned the loss, but over time, he'd adjusted. Last night was different. He woke up with a start in the early morning hours. She was in his mind, in vivid color. Long blonde hair, soft skin the color of a pale moon, and her eyes….he'd never seen eyes like that: brown, sometimes dark, sometimes light, and what she did with them made his mouth go dry. She could look so vulnerable and innocent one second and then mysterious and seductive the next. Her wicked smile matched her eyes and could change on a dime.

Auggie swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his face vigorously trying to shake off the wonderful yet disturbing dream. His brain had obviously just inputted all the information he'd heard about Annie over the last year. He knew that. But still….it was so real. He grabbed his soft black sweats and a t-shirt and headed to the bathroom to splash water on his face.

He exited the bathroom and decided that coffee was the next order of business since going back to sleep was out of the question. He made his way around the center island and was just about to grab the bag of coffee beans out of the cabinet when he heard a very soft knock at the door. He headed to the door.

"Who is it?"

"Auggie? It's me."

Auggie opened the door immediately and was instantly met with the smell of coffee and fresh pastries.

"What are you doing here?"

"I….I brought coffee."

"I know. Come in." He gestured to the kitchen. He heard her sit down at one of the counter stools. He walked around to the other side.

"Were you sleeping?" She asked shyly.

"Actually, no. I had a….bad dream."

"Oh."

"Annie, why are you here at…." He reached for his watch and realized he hadn't put it on yet.

"It's 5:15."

"At 5:15." He finished.

"I just….." She exhaled loudly. "Auggie, I'm just gonna say this. I miss you. I miss us. We've been so distant for the past couple months and every time we try and get together, something happens. I've lost touch with you…I have no idea what's been going on….I miss you." She ended softly.

Auggie absorbed her like a sponge did to water. He couldn't speak.

"Auggie?"

"I…uh…." His mind went blank. He wanted to say everything to her, but was terrified that she didn't feel the same way and he'd forever scare her off. Finally, he went with, "Do I smell Danish?"

He was rewarded with her soft chuckle. "Can't get anything past you."

"You should remember that Walker." He slowly reached across the counter searching for the cardboard coffee cup.

"Here." She slid it into his open palm. She watched him as he took a tentative sip. The lines of his throat as he swallowed made her stomach tighten. There was so much more she wanted to tell him, but she was afraid of sounding needy.

"French Vanilla, Walker?"

"I thought I'd walk on the wild side."

He laughed, as she had meant for him to. He grabbed a stool and sat down across from her. They chatted while eating and drinking; acting like it was perfectly normal to be having breakfast at the crack of dawn. Finally, when they were almost done, Auggie decided he needed to say something to her more serious than his running commentary of apple Danish versus cheese.

"You know Annie, I've really missed you too. I mean it. Really."

She had been brushing crumbs into her hand when the tone of his voice made her stop and look up at him. He was so strong, so sturdy. She counted on him more than he would ever know. These last few months without him had felt like being adrift in a foreign sea.

"What happened with Parker?" She reached across and touched his arm. She felt his nerves twitch at her surprise touch. She watched a hardness come into his eyes.

"I'm sure you know by now."

She was somewhat stung at his reply. "Yeah, I heard it from the gossip mill, but I wanted to know from you, Auggie."

He shook his head and looked down. "You're right. That was rude. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine with me."

"Let's just say I want to talk about Parker about as much as you probably want to talk about Simon."

Annie gulped down the swell of grief she felt in her chest. She loved Simon, but in the back of her mind, she wondered so many times if that had been real love, or just the thrill and excitement of the mission. The guilt that accompanied those thoughts made the subject of Simon one she didn't want to talk about with anyone.

"Yeah." She answered; voice hoarse with emotion.

Auggie cursed himself silently for acting like a jackass. His rough retort had put her defenses squarely in place. If he wasn't careful, she would always keep them up around him. He decided honesty was perhaps his last, best chance.

"Annie…I think you probably knew it wasn't going to work out with Parker before I did."

Annie was shocked by his brutally honest confession. She wondered how best to reply. She decided to match his honesty with her own. "I think I got caught up in the excitement of the mission with Simon. I don't know if it was real, but either way, he's dead, Auggie. He's dead and if he hadn't met me, he wouldn't be."

He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to walk around the kitchen island and gently hold her face in his hands and kiss her deeply. Instead, he braced his hands on the countertop.

"Well, what do you think will happen to us?" He asked cheekily.

"I don't know, but I think I'm too scared to ever fall in love again." She smiled.

Auggie's heart broke a little. He gripped the countertop a little tighter and forced a casual smile onto his face. He picked up his coffee cup and held it up in the air. "Well, here's to friendship then."

Annie watched him for any sign that he might refute her statement. She silently hoped and prayed he's say "I LOVE YOU, ANNIE!" He didn't though. His face remained passive, with just a ghost of a smile.

She picked up her cup and touched it to his. "To us." She whispered. She knew some emotion had snuck into her voice when she saw his brow furrow, but she covered it with a big gulp of coffee.

"I'd better get outta here and let you get ready for work." She slid off the stool and headed for the door.

"I'll see you there, then." He called in her direction.

"Yeah, see ya." She said as she slid the door closed behind her.


End file.
